Tears of Life
by Rurouni Tsuki
Summary: (Sequel to Hiei's Revenge) Ok! Hiei goes on to discover there may be hope for the dead after all... KH HHPxYYH crossover. READ HIEI'S REVENGE FIRST! New chap. Will be discontiued if people don't review
1. It Begins

Disclaimer: I own neither Yu Yu Hakusho nor Harry Potter. DON'T SUE ME!  
  
Warning: This is the sequel to Hiei's Revenge, so read that first or this won't make any sense. Also, there are OotP spoilers. You have been warned. Also YAOI AND SHONEN-AI ALERT!! If there is a major Shonen-ai scene, I will put a warning before it, but there may be little bits and pieces of Shonen-ai sprinkled in.  
  
Author's Note: So, I am back. And, as promised, here is the sequel to Hiei's Revenge. I hope you enjoy it, and it will clear up some of those pesky questions you had at the end of the first story. Other than that, here we go!  
  
Tears of Life  
  
Prolouge: Explinations and a Start to a New Mission.  
  
There were so many questions he wanted answered, and so many things he needed to say to her. He figured this was the reason he had swallowed his pride and talked to Snape.  
  
*~*~*Flashback*~*~*  
  
"I need to speak with you." It was a demand. Not a request.  
  
Snape looked up at the fire koorime, but said nothing. So, Hiei continued, "That book Dumbledore took from the castle. Look on page...." he paused a moment in recollection. "104. There is a potion on that page that may be useful."  
  
Frowning, Snape flipped to the page in question, and stared in surprise. The title read, "Revival Potion."  
  
'Touguro...' Hiei mused. 'So that's how he did it. But what does this have to do with Yukina?'  
  
The potion master sighed, stood, and led the way down to a small room with various potion ingredients lining the walls. He reread the instructions and after a moment looked up.  
  
"It is not a complex potion, by any means. Even my class of fourth years could do this if they tried. The thing is, some of the ingredients are hard to come by. I have all except two of them, one of which is absolutely essential if this is going to work correctly."  
  
"What is the main ingredient?"  
  
"A Teargem. Like the ones your sister could produce."  
  
Chink.  
  
"I've got you covered there."  
  
Snape took the teargem and began to gather the ingrediants needed.  
  
"Alright, then let's see if this works..."  
  
Two hours later, Hiei had fallen asleep. Snape poked him in the ribs and hissed, "Get up!"  
  
"What do you want? If you value your life, you will NEVER do that again."  
  
"We still need one more ingrediant. And we need to add it to the potion within a week, or it won't work."  
  
"What's the ingrediant?"  
  
"Voldemort's wand. Reviving one person is easy. All you'd need a a bone, but in this case we need his wand."  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Hiei closed his eyes. Maybe, it was time to go see Koenma...  
  
A/N: ::snorts:: It's short, but it really just serves the purpose of starting off the story. Now, I normally do do these type of revival ficcies cause all of the ones I've read have been really cheesy and horrible. I'm going to make this as non-horrible as I can. Ok review, even though there's not exactly much to review. Flames will be used to make popcorn and burn my homework. 


	2. Day One

A/N: I'm posting chapter two right away because chapter one was so short. I'm going to update once a week due to cheerleading and school. Updates will either be on Sundays or Thursdays, I haven't decided. Anyway, enjoy.  
  
Day One.  
  
"Hn."  
  
Hiei walked through the halls of the Reikai palace aimlessly. The castle was, as usual, filled with bustling ogres who raced this way and that, fulfilling one task or another. It seemed to Hiei like he was the only one walking, which was a little ironic, as he typically ran everywhere. He wandered into Koenma's office and leaned casually against the wall, waiting for the toddler to notice his presence.  
  
It didn't take long. Koenma looked up from his papers, calmly asking, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I came to talk to you about Voldemort's wand."  
  
"What about it?" Koenma's eyes narrowed suspiciously.  
  
"Where is it?"  
  
"I can't tell you that."  
  
"Why?!?" Hiei was pissed.  
  
"That would be interfering with fate. If you want it, you must search for it on your own."  
  
Blink.  
  
"You've got to be kidding me."  
  
"I assure you I'm not. But, you were right to come to me! Perhaps I can help you a bit!"  
  
Hiei glared at the pompous toddler as he shuffled one of the many file drawers.  
  
"Voldemort...Voldemort...Vol- Ahh! Here it is!" Koenma pulled out the largest file folder Hiei had ever seen. The manila folder's edges were dog- eared from constant use and the label on which the name "Voldemort" was printed had begun to fade. As Koenma began to pull papers from the file, Hiei realized that all Voldemort's folder contained were the death reports of every person he had ever killed. And right on top was Yukina's.  
  
Hiei picked it up. The report had a recent picture of her stapled to the front and had some of her main facts: Birth date, height, weight, age, race, parents, time place, and conditions of death...etc. It also listed some of her main accomplishments in life. But, something was wrong with the report. It was incomplete. The space next to where the area of the Reikai where she was staying was blank.  
  
Koenma snatched the report away from Hiei. "You're not supposed to be looking at that, you know. As you can see, you aren't the only person to loose family to this guy. Look." Koenma held up two reports and their corresponding pictures. The photos were definitely hold, and they were of a young woman in her early twenties with long red hair and beautiful green eyes and a young man about the same age with messy black hair. 'That man looks just like...' Hiei thought before Koenma interrupted.  
  
"These are Harry's parents. It's sad really. They died not long after they turned twenty one; Harry was still an infant, so he doesn't remember of course. Now then," He tucked the death reports away, but kept out one, the oldest one. "You need to understand something, Hiei. This is not just a matter of finding the wand. You may want to sit down, as this will take a while to explain.  
  
"When a wizard kills someone using the 'Avada Kedavra' spell, the victim does not pass on to the after life. Their soul is literally sucked out of their body. Normally, this would just leave an empty shell, like the Dementor's Kiss victims, but the spell tears the soul from the body at such a fast past that it sends the body into cardiac arrest. Because the soul is gone, so is the will to live and the body dies.  
  
"Now, the soul, instead of traveling on to the after life, is captured and held in the murderer's wand, with one exception. On the day the murderer dies, the soul of the first person ever killed by that wizard becomes keeper of the wizard's wand, or the keeper of souls. You have to find the keeper of souls and take back Voldemort's wand."  
  
Hiei was silent. Finally, he said, "But, Yukina said Botan told her I was her brother on her way to the Reikai."  
  
"She was lying."  
  
"NANI?!?"  
  
"She had figured it out by herself. She didn't want to tell you where she was in fear of angering you further. She took a serious risk by escaping when she did to talk to you. She didn't want to waste that time by pissing you off."  
  
"What do you mean?" "Well, there was a very brief moment where the control over the souls was relaxed while the new keeper adjusted to their duties. She managed to sneak out just long enough to tell you what was going on. Had she not gotten back in time, she would have become a lost soul."  
  
"Lost soul?"  
  
"A soul stuck between dimensions. She would be neither in the Reikai nor in the Ningenkai. And, she'd be stuck there for eternity."  
  
"Oh. One more question."  
  
"Just one?"  
  
"Hai. Who is this 'soul keeper' for Voldemort?"  
  
Koenma shook his head, "I can't tell you that. All I can say is go see Dumbledore."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: This story will probably be almost entirely Hiei oriented. Just so ya know. Ja ne! Oh yeah! REVIEW! 


	3. Day One Continued Yes I know it's short ...

A/N: ::glares at laptop:: Updates are going to be a bit sporadic for a while. My laptop's hard dirve died, so I'm using a friend's computer. Please, bare with me. I've gotta find a Win. 98 startup disk before I can even put my laptop back online. Damn old technology and hard drives.  
  
Kurama will be in this chapter, for those of you who are wondering. There are some vague shonen-ai undertones. You have been warned, So don't you dare flame me about it. Sorry if I'm in a bad mood. I had a flyer dropped on my head during cheerleading, so I have one killer headache.  
  
Arigatou gozimasu to all who reviewed. Also, does ANYONE know how to put things in Italics?  
  
Here's the next chapter.  
  
Day One (continued)  
  
Damn that baby to the darkest of all hells. Hiei was more than just pissed off. All he had managed to find out from Koenma was to talk to Dumbledore. That's it. Shimatte, he could have just skipped the hassle and gone straight to Dumbeldore. But NOOO. He wanted to rip Koenma's lungs out and feed them to Kurama's Death Tree.  
  
Speaking of the fox.  
  
Kurama walked over to where Hiei sat fuming. He knew that there was something wrong with the koorime, as he was looking even more pissed off than usual. That was never a good sign. Carefully, the fox sat down next to Hiei.  
  
"Hn."  
  
"What's wrong with you?"  
  
"Koenma is an ass."  
  
"You're JUST figuring this out now? What did he do?"  
  
Hiei closed his eyes. "He knows exactly what I need to do to bring Yukina back, but he won't tell me. Ahou."  
  
"Perhaps he can't."  
  
"Elaborate."  
  
"Maybe he is bound to secrecy, like Botan is about certain death dates and the like. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if he was. But surely he told you SOMETHING."  
  
"Hn. He said to speak to Dumbledore."  
  
"That's a start."  
  
Kurama stood and Hiei opened his eyes to look at him. The fox gently smiled down at him.  
  
"Whatever you do, I'm behind you a hundred percent of the way. I agree with you in disembowelling Koenma, but why don't we wait until this is over?"  
  
"As you wish," Hiei stood next to him.  
  
Kurama ruffled his hair fondly and replied, "Let's find Dumbledore."  
  
~*~*~  
  
He was in the study talking to Yusuke about past missions. When they entered, Yusuke stood and left, a faint smile playing across his face. Dumbledore gestured for them to sit and then rested his chin on his hands and listened as Hiei reaccounted all that Koenma had said.   
  
When they finished, Dumbledore spoke. "There's not much I can do to help you. Personally, I don't know. But i do know where to look it up."  
  
"Where then?" Hiei asked. His patience was growing thin.  
  
"The Hogwarts Library has a vast record of all of the things of that sort. It may be in there, but it will require a bit of time and research."  
  
"Let's do it then," Kurama replied.  
  
Oh joy, thought Hiei. And just when he thought his day couldn't get any worse. Dumbledore was OFFERING to let Kurama into the Hogwarts library. That baka. They might never see Kurama again.  
  
A/N: Meh. It's short, but it's existant. I almost didn't type it, but updates are officially every Thursday except game days.   
  
Please review.  
  
::dies:: 


	4. So Hang Me

A/N: Whee! I'm back. Yes... indeed....  
  
Now, I realize I haven't updated in a while, but I swear, my eyes nearly fell out of my head whe I saw how many reviews I had. 137. One hundred and thirty seven reviews. And then I read them. And found that over ninety of them were from the same person. ::dies:: Please don't do that.  
  
Here is the chapter, for all of those who waited ever so patiently.  
  
Chapter 4: A Library of Information  
  
Dumbledore is officially insane, thought Hiei. After all, who in their right mind would allow Kurama into one of the largest libraries in all of Britain?  
  
Kurama looked like a kid in a candy store. Hiei knowingly took a step back as Kurama pounced on the mountainous stacks of books. While the fox adoringly gazed through one book after another, Hiei began his search more practically. As Kurama had chosen to search the history texts, Hiei headed towards the files of the old Daily Prophet newspapers.  
  
Searching through newspaper after newspaper proved to be tedious work, and by the time dinner rolled around, he was sick of it. He had read all of the daily newspapers from 1981 (the year Voldemort first fell) and July of 1945, and the earliest Voldemort related death had occured in 1969. He was just about to call it quits when a bibbit from the bottom of 30 June caught his eye.  
  
"MUGGLE FAMILY FOUND DEAD"  
  
Dark wizard suspected in the deaths of Christopher, Janice, and Tom Riddle. All three found dead in their Little Hangleton home yesterday morning. No suspects have been apprehended.  
  
Riddle... That was Voldemort's last name...  
  
"KURAMA! I think I've found something!" he called.  
  
"Hush!" snarled the Librarian.  
  
Kurama darted between the book shelves over to Hiei's side. He placed his hands on Hiei's shoulders and read the paper over the demon's head.  
  
"Hmm... It's a lead at least. Where did they die?"  
  
~*~*~  
  
Two hours later, the two were standing in front of an old, decrepit house. The lawn was over run with weeds and the house itself was beginning to fall apart. Together, they pushed the door open (the lock had long since rusted away) and entered.  
  
The door led into a massive entrance hall. The walls were decorated with elaborate painting of the house's former occupants. The door to the left led into the drawing room. Kurama knew instantly that this was where all three Riddles had died. Yellow police tape and chalk outlines showed where the bodies had lain, but no other clues were found in the room.  
  
For an hour, they explored the elderly home, but found few clues. The only thing that seemed strange in the house was one room upstairs. The room had recently been disturbed. The dust there was not as thick and there were coals in the grate.  
  
Defeated, the two left the house. Hiei was all for calling it a night, but Kurama had other plans.  
  
"When we came into town, I noticed a pub called the Hanged Man. Perhaps we can gather some clues from the villagers."  
  
The Hanged Man was a small and cramped, but lively pub in the center of town. As they entered, one of the men called out to Kurama.  
  
"Hey hey, sweet heart. Hows about you come over here and have a drink with me, eh?"  
  
Kurama felt Hiei tense next to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before calling back to the man.  
  
"Excuse me sir, perhaps you can help us out."  
  
"Anything for a pretty lady like you!"  
  
"Baka ningen. Oh just wait until I get my hands around his neck..." Hiei growled under his breath.  
  
Kurama tightened his grip on Hiei's shoulder before responding, "You see, my friend and I are doing a report on mysteries in the area, and were wondering if you could tell us anything about the Riddles."  
  
"The Riddles, eh? They was them rich folk that got murdered, right?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I don't know nothing 'bout it, 'cept their graves are up in the northern church yard and... hey, where ye goin'? ye didn't even give me ye number!"  
  
Kurama turned back at the door and smiled at the man, "Thanks, but I'm afraid I'm taken. 


	5. A Grave Warning

A/N: Ok, here is the next chapter. I got three reviews for the last chapter. Amethyst Bubble (who, I believe, has reviewed every single chapter of both this story and its prequel. She is awersome!), Fire Monkey Fanatic, and Cat, who has decided to stop reading my story because the last chapter "sucked". So read this, because it is IMPORTANT. I typically don't care about flames, but, if people don't like this story, I don't have to post it. There are several people who do read this story, and I'll just email to them. SO, no response: story becomes discontinued. No exceptions.  
  
Chapter 6: A Grave Warning  
  
The cemetery was dark and dreary, with a sense of foreboding lurking around the place. The graves were old and unkempt, so it took awhile to find which graves were the Riddles. When they did find the graves, Hiei knew at once that they had reached a dead end.   
  
For a while, the two examined the simple graves, but their search proved futile. It was as they turned to leave that Hiei felt something. An odd ki brushed past his senses. He was suddenly hit with a bolt of inspiration.  
  
"I'm tired, fox."  
  
"Then let's get back to the Order," Kurama replied.  
  
"No. There is a tree on the hill over there. I hate sleeping inside anyways. Maybe there will be new clues in the morning."  
  
"And where am I supposed to sleep?"  
  
"Hn. Stupid fox."  
  
Hiei led the way to the yew tree on the hill overlooking the graveyard. It was an ancient tree with thick, sturdy branches, Hiei picked a limb about ten feet off the ground and sat on it, his back resting against the trunk.  
  
"Are you coming?"  
  
Kurama climbed the tree more cautiously than Hiei had and sat on the branch in front of Hiei, his head resting comfortably against Hiei's chest. Hiei wrapped his arms around the kitsune and drifted off to sleep...  
  
... and true to his prediction, the presence he had sensed before materialized in front of him in the form of a stern and elderly woman.  
  
"And you," he said. "must be Mrs. Riddle."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Kurama woke the next morning when the sun was high. He was grumpy and had a crink in his neck from the odd sleeping position. Turning, he found that Hiei was already awake.  
  
"Hn. I was beginning to wonder if I should wake you. We need to get back to the Order."  
  
"Huh? I thought you wanted to search for more clues."  
  
"Well, I spoke with Janice Riddle last night..."  
  
"NANI!?!?!"*thunk* and with that, Kurama fell from the tree.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Hiei, despite Kurama's non-stop badgering, refused to speak of the nights happenings. The first thing he did upon returning to the Order was to ask when Dumbledore would be coming back. Lupin responded that it would not be for another hour or two.  
  
"In the mean time, you should find some way to occupy yourselves," he said.  
  
"Yeah!" Harry cried cheerfully. " Ron and I are going out back to fly around for a bit. Wanna come?"  
  
"Certainly," Kurama looked excited.  
  
"Yeah! Me too! I wanna see how this kid-itchy game is played," Yusuke laughed.  
  
"Quidditch," Ron and Harry corrected him simultainiously, and then they all left to see if the twins would allow then to borrow their brooms. Lupin left only a few moments later when a loud bang erupted from upstairs, leaving Hiei alone with Kuwabarra.  
  
"Good," Kuwabarra growled. "I wanted to talk to you anyways."  
  
"Hn?"  
  
"Yes, I wanted to ask you something."  
  
"Hn."  
  
"It's real important to me, ok?"  
  
"Hn."  
  
"I want to know....how...how she...how Yukina died."  
  
"..."  
  
"well?"  
  
"...hn."  
  
"Goddamnit, kisama!" Kuwabarra snapped. " Don't you know how to say anything else? I mean, what the hell does Kurama see in you anyways? All you do is say 'hn' and insult people! I pity the fact that Yukina had to die with you around because I doubt you even gave a damn. Heartless bastard, you probably laughed, didn't you? It's not like you even cared-"  
  
Hiei's temper broke and he slammed Kuwabarra into a nearby wall. Damn ningen emotions to the deepest of the seven hells; he was beginning to cry.  
  
"Don't you ever speak to me like that," he hissed at the larger boy. "You have no idea what it's like to have the only part of your family that hasn't turned you-" he froze midsentance realizing what he had just said.  
  
Kuwabarra's eyes widened as the realization hit him harder than the last time Yusuke punched him in the face. "You... no way...you're Yukina's brother??"  
  
Hiei released the front of Kuwabarra's shirt. "I am, but I never... She knows now, of course, but I never...  
  
"After she was kidnapped, I went in search of her. I was careless, and Voldemort's deatheaters caught me. I was brought before the dark lord for judgement just as he was punishing Yukina.I knew it would mean trouble for us both if I spoke out. Then, he raised his wand and she...died. He dismissed me as no threat and told me to bury her body... he didn't know either."  
  
After several minutes of deafining silence, Kuwabarra spoke. "Truce?"  
  
And Hiei responded with one word that said everything and nothing at the same time.  
  
"Hn."  
  
~*~*~  
  
"So what did Mrs. Riddle say?"  
  
Dumbledore had called an emergency meeting of the Order, though Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the Reikai Tantei had been asked to attend as well.  
  
"She said that Tom Riddle only moved back to his parents house after he discovered his wife was a witch. He owned a house in Surrey, and that is where he is."  
  
He glanced around the table. "Kurama and I will go tomorrow."  
  
'I'm coming Yukina....my sister.....'  
  
A/N: Ahh, there we go! Hope ye liked it. Now REVIEW, gosh darnit. 


	6. Stubborn as Death

_A/N: Yeah, so it's been HOW LONG since I've updatded? Ok, so shoot me. I've got a problem with updating. What ever. This chapter's been written for over a month, but this is the first chance I've had to type it. There's one, maybe two chapters left after this. Maybe a sequel. I'll leave it open for one anyways._  
  
Enough of my yappying, here's the story.  
  
Chapter 6: Stubborn as Death  
  
And so Hiei and Kurama set off to the home of the late Tom Riddle bright and early the next morning, leaving behind a very miffed Kuwabarra. The stubborn man had tried to go with them, and in the end Yusuke had to knock him out to keep him from following. Kuwabarra wasn't the only one to offer assistance- half the Order was clamoring to help out. The pair had insistantly refused, and it was only with Dumbledore's intervention that they were able to leave the address and directions to Riddle's abode.  
  
However, after well over a hour of aimless wandering through the backstreets of London, it became apparent to Kuramam that they were hopelessly lost.  
  
"I don't get it," he mutter distractedly. "We followed the directions exactly. Now where the hell is Mayberry Street?"  
  
Hiei wasn't paying attention to the distraught kitsune. Instead, he was watching a group of three boys near by who appeared to be playing jenken (rock, paper, scissors). Two of the boys played rock, while the third played scissors. The two who won grinned.  
  
"Ya lost! Ya lost! Now yous gots ta go inda hause on Mayberry Street!" They chanted.  
  
The one who lost was close to tears. "But I don' wannna!"  
  
"But'cha gotta, Pete!"  
  
Pete stared at his shoes. Hiei glanced at Kurama, who was still deep in thought, and then went over to the boys. The two who had won were now chanting "Sissy! Sissy!"  
  
"Don't tease him," growled Hiei. The three looked stratled at his sudden appearance. One of them stepped forward and said defiant;y, "Who are you? Ya big meanie! Can't tell me what ta do!"  
  
"My name," Hiei responded curtly. "Is Hiei. And who exactly are you?"  
  
The one who stepped forward said, "Steve." which was followed by a "Billy" and an "'m Pete."  
  
Billy stared at Hiei with intrest. "How old are you? You talk like my mommy does, but'cha look like you're five or six like us."  
  
"Hn. I'm small for my age. Where is this haunted house you speak of?"  
  
Steve grinned eviliy and whisper something to Billy, who said aloud, "Yah! Hee-ay can go wiv Pete to da house! BYE!" and then they left. Hiei guided Pete to where Kurama was mutter to himself.  
  
"Fox," Hiei said coldly.  
  
mumble mumble no response.  
  
"Baka kistune."  
  
mumble mumble  
  
"Kurama?"  
  
mumble  
  
"SHUICHI!"  
  
Now that got his attention. He whipped around to find Hiei standing with a very confused little boy.  
  
"Wha...?"  
  
"Kurama, this is Pete. He knows where the house is, so it looks like we're baby sitting again."  
  
Pete tugged lightly on Kurama's coat and said, "Are you a friend of Mr. Hee-ay?"  
  
Kurama nodded, laughing at the horrible mispronunciation of Hiei's name. "I am. My name is Kurama, but you can call me... Fox."  
  
Hiei's jaw dropped.  
  
"Ok, Mr. Fox. I'll take you to do haunted house."  
  
Pete led them down one of the many unnamed streets, talking the whole time.  
  
"People don't live down here no more 'cause of da ghosts. My friend Tim lived here for a while, but he moved away. We used ta cath froggers together. Did you catch froggers, Mr. Fox?"  
  
"Yes, when I was your age."  
  
"Wowwy! Dat musta been a gazillion years ago!"  
  
"Not as long as you think."  
  
"Did you, Mr. Hee-ay?"  
  
"Did I what."  
  
"Catch froggers."  
  
"...hn."  
  
"He don't talk much, does he Mr. Fox?"  
  
"No, he doesn't."  
  
"We're here!" Pete pointed at the well kept house in front of them. It was twice the size of any other house on the street and was in pristine condition, while its neighbors had begun to fall in disrepair from years of neglect.  
  
"Uh...I gots ta go... Bye bye Mr. Hee-ay and Mr. Fox!" and with that, Pete took off.  
  
"Nice kid," Kurama said, watching Pete run away.  
  
"I agree, Mr. Fox. Might we go inside?"  
  
Kurama blushed and nodded. Hiei stepped forward and slowly pushed open the unlocked door.  
  
The door led into a small entrance hall. And in the entrance hall stood a solitary ghost.  
  
"Nee-chan," Hiei whispered. "Yukina..."  
  
Yukina smiled, "You came. I'm so happy. How are Kazuma and the others?"  
  
"They're doing ok. I finally told the baka of your relationship to me, Nee-chan."  
  
"Good. Riddle is up the stairs, first room on the left."  
  
"Arigatou."  
  
As they headed up the staircase, Yukina whispered, "Be careful..."  
  
The first room did contain Riddle. He was an elderly man, seated at his desk. He did not notice the pair as they entered, and Kurama spoke first.  
  
"Mr. Riddle?"  
  
The man jumped a foot in the air and hissed, "One's of the living, what are you doing here?"  
  
"We have come for your son's wand. We want to return to the living," Kurama responded calmly.  
  
The ghost's eyes widened and he yelled, "Never! You will NOT take my supply of souls from me!"  
  
"Supply of souls...?"  
  
"Yes! In order to retain exsistance, I need to devour the souls of the dead or of the living. And you, red haired one, look particularly tasty..." Riddle moved forward and placed a hand on Kurama's face. Kurama froze, his eyes wide with fear, and his body began to glow. He screamed as his soul was slowly torn from his body.  
  
Hiei yelled, "No!" and stepped forward.  
  
"No? I think not."  
  
"Please.. I beg of you. Leave him alone. In exchange, I shall let you have my soul."  
  
The ghost thought about it and then grinned, jerking his hand away from Kurama, who promptly collapsed.  
  
"I accept."

To be continued....

A/N: Ain't I evil? Nice little cliffy there for ya. Not to worry. I'll update soon, I PROMISE.


	7. In Memoriam

A/N: This is embarrassing. I typed this up within 24hrs of posting the last chapter and then LOST the disk I saved it on to. Wow. Boy am I bad. Anywho, I feel bad, so I'm not only posting THIS chapter, I'm posting the epilogue too. Aren't I great?

Oh yeah. SHONEN-AI WARNING. DON'T FLAME ME. Italics after this are flashbacks.  
  
Chapter 7: In Memoriam  
  
Hiei gulped and stepped forward. As Riddle touched his cheek, he was suddenly washed with a deluge memories...  
  
_"You. Boy. Is your name Kurama?"  
  
He looked confused. "It is. How did you know...?"  
  
"That doen't matter. Hn. I am planning on breaking into the King's Vault. I need your expertise. Would you be interested?"  
  
He seemed to think about it for a moment. "Yes. Certainly. And who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"  
  
"...Hiei."_

* * *

_"How long have you been standing there?"  
  
He stepped from the shadows, his eyes on Yukina and the group in the arena. "Long enough. I see I needn't have come after all."  
  
"...hn."  
  
"Why won't you tell the girl? She deserves to know she has a brother-"  
  
"She deserves to be happy."  
  
He laughed. "I thought they were the same."  
  
"This is the way I want it..."_

_

* * *

"Kurama? Are you awake?"  
  
He opened the window. "Hiei! What are you doing here? It's pouring out there!"  
  
"...Tell me about it. I'm drenched."  
  
He stepped aside. "Well, come in."  
  
"I'm soaking your floor, fox."  
  
"Don't worry about it," He pulled a towel and some clothes from the closet. "Dry off and put these on."  
  
"May I stay here tonight?"  
  
"Of course. I'll sleep on the floor. You take the bed."  
  
"...Kurama?"  
  
"mhmm?"  
  
"..............thanks....."_

_

* * *

"What is this pink stuff?"  
  
"Strawberry ice cream," Kurama grinned. "Try it. It's the best."  
  
"Wow! This good!"  
  
Kurama laughed.  
  
"Why are you laughing?"  
  
"I've never seen you get excited about anything before. It's cute."  
  
"...hn."  
  
"Are you blushing???"  
  
"Am not!"  
  
Kurama's grin widened and he leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.  
  
"Now you certainly are. You're redder than that ice cream you're eating!"  
  
"Kurama..."_

_

* * *

"Hiei! Kami-sama, what happened?!?" Kurama looked absolutely shocked.  
  
"Yukina.... she's..........gone........"_

__

* * *

Pain. It was pain beyond all pain. Hiei couldn't breathe, couldn't think. He was dying, but his kitsune was safe, and that's all that mattered.  
  
A light. A light appeared before him, and suddenly the pain stopped. Death isn't so bad.... he thought.  
  
Then, of course, he opened his eyes. And before him stood his sister. She was crying.  
  
"Please, I beg of you," she whispered through her tears. "Leave him be..."  
  
Riddle stared at her, so she continued, "He is my brother, my twin. I am the one who sent him here to free us. I'm sorry. I've been so foolish..."  
  
Even in her ghostly form, her tears solidified and landed on the floor witha quiet chink before disappearing altogether. Riddle looked moved by this display of tears and growled, "Fine. Take the wand, and leave before I change my mind."  
  
Hiei carefully got to his feet as Yukina took the wand from Riddle. Instead of rushing over to see what they had won, he went to the very still Kurama's side. Kurama's eyes were closed and he was very pale.  
  
"Please," he murmured. "Please wake up."  
  
Kurama's eyes opened and he said softly, "Hiei? Why did you do that?" 

Hiei turned away, "You think I'd let you die like that?"

"Still... You shouldn't of-"  
  
"Baka kistune, let's go home."  
  
TBC


	8. Epilogue: Tears of Life

A/N: Epilogue! Joyousness. I'd like to thank all of those who took their precious time to review. I'm very gratefull. If you'd like, I'll write a sequel; I'm leaving this open ended anyways. Tell me if you want me to, or if it's better this way. I also have a few other little projects I'm working on, so... yeah. Well, enjoy.  
  
Epilogue: Tears of Life  
  
Kurama had never slept so well in his life. Needless to say, he was reluctant to wake up at all. But when he did, the first thing he saw was a pair of brilliant red eyes. His first thought was that it was Hiei, but this pair of eyes was framed by sea green hair....  
  
"Yukina!" he gasped.  
  
"Shh! Hiei-kun JUST fell asleep. Don't you dare wake him," Yukina snapped softly.  
  
Kurama glanced over at the chair by his bedside. Sure enough, Hiei was curled tightly on the cushion, sound asleep.  
  
"What happened while I was asleep?"  
  
"Well, Hiei's been worried sick. He helped Snape-san finish the potion and hasn't left the room since then.  
  
"The potion worked perfectly. As you can see, I'm here. Harry-kun is downstairs with his parents. They are truly marvolous people. Very kind. Mrs. Potter has been making sure you stay fed while you're ill. It's great to see the three of them. They're already planning to rescue Sirius Black, Harry's godfather. They came across Lestrange's wand during a recent raid, and I've already offered to help. They're such kind people. They've invited us to stay the rest of the summer with them!  
  
"And that's not all. Dumbledore has offered us all invitations to attend Hogwarts next year. Because of our spirit power, we'll be able to start in the same year as Harry, as transfers. Yusuke told him that we'd think about it.  
  
"Oh... and Kazuma asked me out. I'm going to a movie tonight, so I'd better be leaving. Feel better, Kurama-kun!"

She paused at the door, "Do me a favor, though."

"Yes?"

"DON'T tell Hiei where I'm going." And then she left.  
  
Kurama could hear the Order downstairs- Mrs. Weasley was telling off the twins for misbehaving; The Potters laughing at a joke Lupin told; Kazuma and Yukina leaving....  
  
But, that could wait. He could see them any time. He carefully stood and picked Hiei up. Hiei woke up long enough to see Kurama's face and smile, before falling asleep again. Kurama lay Hiei down before sliding back into bed himself.  
  
The Order could wait. Now, he was getting some much needed rest....  
  
Owari


End file.
